Ruling on Ten Commandments monument appealed

A group dedicated to First Amendment cases of separation of church and state has appealed a U.S. District Court ruling that allows a Ten Commandments monument to remain outside Everett's former City Hall.

The group, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, had pursued cases against several such monuments nationwide, but is appealing the decision only on the Everett monument because it can be distinguished from a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed a monument in Texas to remain, said Rob Boston, a spokesman for the nonprofit group.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a pair of Ten Commandments decisions in June, effectively ruling when monuments containing the commandments could and could not be displayed on public property. The court ruled that a monument in Texas could stay because of the context and the length of time it had been there without being contested, among other things.

Last month, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Lasnik said in an 11-page summary judgment for Everett that the case surrounding the Everett monument resembled the Texas case and therefore the monument could stay.

There have been three or four such rulings on Ten Commandments monuments based on the Supreme Court decision, said Stephen Smith, an attorney from the Preston Gates & Ellis law firm in Seattle, which is representing Everett.

After the federal court decision, a spokesman for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State said there may have been "no point in challenging" the monument further. But the group made the appeal Oct. 12, saying the Everett case was different from Texas because the Texas monument was part of a "museumlike setting," whereas the monument in Everett is not, said Boston.

Smith disagrees, saying there are even more monuments close to the Ten Commandments in Everett than around the monument at the Texas State Capitol.

"We have an even stronger case here than in the Texas case," he said.

The appeal probably won't cost the city significantly more than it has already spent on the lawsuit, Smith said. Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson said after the federal court ruling that the city had spent between $125,000 and $130,000 to defend itself against the lawsuit.

The sole plaintiff in the case is Jesse Card, a self-proclaimed Everett activist and a write-in candidate for Everett mayor.

Briefs to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals are to be filed by Americans United by Feb. 22, and the brief from Everett's lawyers is due within 14 days after they receive that brief, according to court documents.

Oral arguments, which may be made in Seattle, will probably take place in the summer or fall of next year, Smith said.

Brian Alexander: 425-745-7845 or balexander@seattletimes.com